Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• US condemns 'murder' of Iraqi journalist
• DIPLOMACY IS THE WISER PATH TO PEACE IN UKRAINE
• Romney’s Reach on World Opinion of U.S.
• Syria rebels on northern offensive after losses
• Mineta Transportation Institute Says Subways Are Still in Terrorists' Sights
• Asylum seekers in Europe reach two-decade high
• Turkey shoots down Syrian plane it says violated air space
• Despite U.N. resolution, Syria's war foes hinder aid access: Ban
• Today in History

US condemns 'murder' of Iraqi journalist Posted: 24 Mar 2014 04:04 PM PDT The United States on Monday condemned the killing of a prominent Iraqi journalist in Baghdad over the weekend, describing the shooting as murder. Mohammed Bidaiwi, editor-in-chief of the US-funded Radio Free Iraq, was shot dead after an altercation with a guard outside a compound in the capital that is controlled by President Jalal Talabani. US State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said Washington was "deeply concerned" about Bidaiwi's death and had demanded a full investigation. "The United States condemns the murder of Radio Free Iraq's Baghdad bureau chief, Mohammed Bidaiwi ... which occurred following a confrontation at a checkpoint in Baghdad," Harf said.

DIPLOMACY IS THE WISER PATH TO PEACE IN UKRAINE Posted: 24 Mar 2014 04:00 PM PDT WASHINGTON -- One of the greatest movie scenes of all time is doubtless the one in "Lawrence of Arabia" where the tribal Arab sheikhs are gathered together in Damascus after supposedly having "taken" the city. Thus, he goes on to say, "a wise U.S. policy toward Ukraine" would not only see a way for the U.S. and Russia to reconcile, buts it "would seek a way for the two parts of (Ukraine) to cooperate with each other." As well, "we should seek reconciliation, not the domination of a faction."

Romney’s Reach on World Opinion of U.S. Posted: 24 Mar 2014 03:43 PM PDT Mitt Romney said he couldn't think of a single "major country" that "has greater respect and admiration for America today than it did five years ago when Barack Obama became president."

Syria rebels on northern offensive after losses Posted: 24 Mar 2014 02:00 PM PDT Syrian rebels have launched a fierce offensive against President Bashar al-Assad's troops in four northern provinces, aiming to reverse a string of defeats, an NGO and rebels said Monday. UN chief Ban Ki-moon, meanwhile, said humanitarian access to Syrians remains "extremely challenging" a month after the world body demanded a lifting of sieges and bombardments of residential areas. The rebel offensive follows several victories for the regime along the Lebanese border -- in the Qalamun region, north of Damascus, and around renowned Crusader castle Krak des Chevaliers, west of the central city of Homs. On Monday, the rebels and their jihadist ally Al-Nusra Front seized a key area on the border with Turkey, gaining full control of the Kasab frontier crossing, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Mineta Transportation Institute Says Subways Are Still in Terrorists' Sights Posted: 24 Mar 2014 12:44 PM PDT SAN JOSE, Calif., March 24, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The FBI arrested a California National Guard reservist on March 17 as he headed for the Canadian border on his way to Syria. Once in Syria, Nicholas Michael Teausant, who is also a student at San Joaquin Delta Community College in Stockton CA, planned to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The Mineta Transportation Institute's (MTI) security experts Brian Michael Jenkins and Bruce Butterworth offered some insight into the history of these kinds of transit attacks based on data collected in MTI's proprietary database on surface transportation attacks around the world. Mr. Jenkins, director of MTI's National Transportation Safety and Security Center, said, "Although he had never attended the army's basic training course and was in the process of being discharged by the National Guard for failing to meet 'basic education requirements,' Teausant thought he could teach the Syrian jihadists shooting skills and urban warfare tactics."

Asylum seekers in Europe reach two-decade high Posted: 24 Mar 2014 05:10 AM PDT Nearly half a million people sought asylum in Europe last year, the most in two decades, with the largest number coming from Syrians fleeing civil war, the European Union said on Monday. In total, 434,160 people sought refuge in the EU's 28 member states in 2013, according to Eurostat, the EU statistics office. The European Union rejected 65 percent of the requests and granted refugee status to 15 percent of the asylum seekers. The remaining 20 percent got at least temporary permission to stay in Europe.

Turkey shoots down Syrian plane it says violated air space Posted: 24 Mar 2014 01:29 AM PDT By Daren Butler ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish armed forces shot down a Syrian plane on Sunday that Ankara said had crossed into its air space in an area where Syrian rebels have been battling President Bashar al-Assad's forces for control of a border crossing. "A Syrian plane violated our airspace," Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told an election rally in northwest Turkey. Because if you violate my airspace, our slap after this will be hard." Syria condemned what it called a "blatant aggression" and said the jet was pursuing rebel fighters inside Syria. One plane entered Turkish airspace at Yayladagi, east of the Kasab border crossing, it said.

Despite U.N. resolution, Syria's war foes hinder aid access: Ban Posted: 23 Mar 2014 09:12 PM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations accused Syria's government and rebels of hindering aid access, suggesting both sides could be violating U.N. Security Council demands that emergency relief reach civilians caught in the crossfire of the three-year civil war. A month after the 15-member council achieved rare unity to unanimously approve a resolution demanding rapid, safe and unhindered aid access, including across borders, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said the situation "remains extremely challenging." In Ban's first report to the council on the implementation of the February 22 resolution - obtained by Reuters on Sunday - he said 175,000 people remain besieged by government forces and 45,000 people trapped by opposition groups in several areas. No new ceasefires were brokered to gain access to these areas and there were breaches of existing ceasefires, Ban said. Some 9.3 million people in Syria need humanitarian assistance, Ban said, while another 2.6 million have fled the three-year civil war, sparked in March 2011 by a revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.

Today in History Posted: 23 Mar 2014 09:01 PM PDT Today is Monday, March 24, the 83rd day of 2014. There are 282 days left in the year.

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